Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Can the representatives of the Department confirm that what they are saying to us today is that each individual farmer who does not stock the commonage will not be entitled to single farm payment, areas of natural constraint payment or GLAS payment on that land? Can they confirm further that sheep would be the required animal on mountains going up to 2,000 feet, so that it will not suffice to throw cattle on the low land? That is a very important point. Have they done a calculation as to the loss of income that will occur on the commonage areas in the counties of Galway, Mayo, etc., due to the fact that if certain farmers continue not to stock the commonage because it makes it unviable, it would effectively double their single farm payment or they are not going to get the lift that the witnesses are talking about? It will become a mirage, like many things are becoming in the hills, and they will lose also the areas of natural constraint, ANC, payment and they will be locked out of REPS, which they would have been getting. Have they done a calculation on the net loss in the hill areas of this collective suite of measures? It seems to me that they are not for turning.